Drabbles and flash
by Adoradork
Summary: A collection of TMNT drabbles, some random, some requested.
1. Crowded

_Someone requested a Raph x April drabble. So here's Raph, trying to get noticed in the crowd._

* * *

April's in the kitchen when he goes to grab a juice, tapping madly at her laptop. "Hey," she says, as he turns to leave.

He didn't think she'd noticed him. "Hey," he says, leaning casually on the counter. "So, what are you-"

Donnie bursts into the kitchen. "I found those references you wanted, April." He dumps a printout on the bench next to April.

Raphael rolls his eyes and heads for the dojo to do some training. He's sweaty and hot by the time April walks in. He wipes the sweat out of his eyes, hopes he doesn't smell too bad. Casual voice. "So, want to-"

"April." Leo walks in after her. "Sorry, I'm ready now. Let's go over that form again."

Raphael gives up on training and heads for the shower. He's watching TV in the pit when April comes out of the dojo and flops down on the bench with her laptop. His gaze wanders to her screen. She's back to the essay.

"How was training?" he says.

Mikey thumps into the seat beside her "April! Whatcha doin'? Oh that looks boring. Want to watch SMRFF?" He looks around for the remote.

Raphael sighs and tosses it to him. For a place that's so big, the lair feels awfully crowded sometimes.

It's quiet after she leaves. He waits until he thinks she should be home, then pulls out his phone.

_Did you make it home in one piece?_

_Of course. Like I do every night._

_It's not safe out there._ _Maybe I should walk you home tomorrow._

The reply is a long time coming.

_Sure, if it makes you feel better._

_See you tomorrow, then._

_Night, Raph._

He tucks the phone back in his belt with a smile.


	2. She'll get to the bottom of this

_Another drabble request, this time 'Irma, suspicious'. This was fun. I feel sorry for Irma, and hope that she gets to meet the turtles soon!_

* * *

April's father answers the door for Irma. She smiles at him. "How was your sabbatical?"

"My what?" His eyes dart up and to the right. "Oh, right. Yes, it was very enjoyable. Uh, April's in her room studying if you want to go up."

_Gaze direction up and to the left. Evasive body language. Change of topic. Clearly lying. So where did you disappear to last month, hmm, Mr O'Neil?_

She's at the top of the stairs when she hears raised voices from April's room. A male voice, and _not _that Casey Jones. She doesn't feel even remotely guilty about sneaking up to the door so she can listen in. April's been too weird. Too ready to disappear. _Something_ is going on.

But she's got to admit, if it's just a secret boyfriend, she's going to be really pissed.

"We can go tonight." Strange boy voice #1. Kind of serious. "Why not now?" Strange boy voice #2. Growly. "Let's do this!" _Three of them? What? _ Irma leans closer. Her bag slips forward and thumps against the door.

There's a tearing sound and a couple of thuds from inside and then April flings the door open. "Irma! What are you doing here?"

Irma straightens and shoves her bag back on her shoulder. Curse it. "Biology cram session, remember?"

She can tell from April's face that she totally forget. Well, fine. Irma flings away any last remaining shreds of guilt. "Hey, is that your dad calling?"

"Huh? Dad?" April hurries downstairs.

Quick as a flash Irma's in April's room, dumping her bag and scanning for clues. April's closet is empty of strange boys, as is the space under her bed. The window is open and she checks the fire escape, but nothing.

Irma folds her arm and pouts. She's stopped asking about April's weird phone. Stopped asking where April runs off to all the time on her own and with Casey. She'd be hurt, if she wasn't so damned _curious_.

Her gaze falls on the pile of homework books on April's desk. There's a notepad on top. She grabs a lead pencil, scribbles lightly across the page. Lines appear, like a quick sketch of a city block. Strange handwriting. Mutagen storage with a question mark. _Mutagen?_

She hears April coming back, tears off the page and tucks it in her bag.

"Okay," said April. "Ready for some study?"

"Sure am." She pats her bag. There will definitely be some study, later. She's going to get to the bottom of this.


	3. Playing the stars

_Tumblr user Inkydonuts requested Mikey x OC (blind musician, Sunny), stars._

* * *

"I love Spring." Sunny leaned on the sill, half out of the window, her chin resting on her hands. "It smells the nicest." She breathed in the city, filled the darkness of her world with scent and noise.

There was a sniffing sound, a squeak from the fire escape as Michelangelo shifted. "I don't smell anything different. Mostly garbage."

"Well the garbage always smells nicer in Spring."

Michelangelo's warm laugh lit up her darkness. She loved his laugh, loved the vibrations of it, burbling like water through her mind. He was such a strange person, her friend who came to sit outside her window and listen to her music.

"The sky is clearer, I guess. You can see the...stars...oh, sorry." His voice trailed off.

She could sense his embarrassment. It was the same awkwardness she felt from anyone who talked about _seeing_. As if she would be insulted that they could see and she could not.

"It's okay." Silence stretched between them. Sunny felt bad for him. "What are they like? The stars?"

"Well, it's like a big black sheet, covered in little points of light."

"Oh." Too many words that had no meaning to her. She sighed.

"No, wait. Like...like notes. Like an endless page of notes."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, like a...like the biggest, longest song in the world."

Now she could feel something, almost grasp it. "Just notes everywhere?"

"No, they're in patterns. The patterns make the songs. Here." She felt him settle on the sill next to her. He took her hand, turned it over so her palm was up. His hands were large, and cool, strange. A finger pressed on her skin. "This is called the big dipper." More touches, along her palm and up her arm.

Her mind turned the touches into notes, a melody. "Oh that's beautiful. Do another one."

"Uh…okay, well, this one is the...the kitten, yeah."

Another pattern danced across her skin, filling her mind with music.

"Play more," she whispered. She leaned her head on his shoulder as he played the stars for her.


	4. Balance

_For lulloyd, who asked for Donnie, balance._

* * *

Donnie is perched on the end of a beam with nothing below him but a lot of air. The only thing keeping him from a 10 story drop onto concrete is Fishface's foot on the other end of the beam, and Donnie's not sure how long that's going to last. There's a long way from Donnie's end to the safety of the roof, and while he could probably make it, then there's the problem of Fishface and his big, titanium feet. So he's kind of stuck, for now, balancing easily enough but really, at the moment, the balance is heavily skewed towards Fishface.

He's not even sure why he's here. Fishface is Raphael's nemesis. It's typical of Raphael to pick the nastiest enemy. Leo has Karai, and he can keep her as far as Donnie is concerned. Mikey somehow has Rahzar, due to their shared history. Each of them with a mirror image, a yin to their yang. Leo would say good to balance out evil, but Donnie's always worked in shades of grey and doesn't think it's that simple.

So who does that leave him with? Not Tiger Claw. Donnie's not big or nasty enough to be a threat to the cat. No, he gets Baxter. The whiny nerd. He's not scary. He's not even particularly effective. He was a loser the first day they met him, and he's even more of a loser now with the whole fly mutation thing. Ugh.

But tonight, due to a whole lot of bad luck, it's Donnie facing down Fishface, and he can see from Xever's expression that he is a momentary entertainment on the way to bigger things. Certainly not a threat. He wonders when Fishface will get tired of playing. Because Donnie's not Raph. He won't rage and swear and exchange pithy insults. His entertainment potential is limited.

As is, apparently, his lifespan.

Fishface lifts his foot for a moment and the beam dips and sways beneath Donnie's feet. He shifts on his toes, keeping his balance perfectly. Adrenalin shoots through his body.

Fishface laughs. "I wonder if you will crack open like an egg. I have never seen the inside of a turtle before."

And then his brain, never content to be quiet for very long, says _hey. You know what might work? _The beam settles and Donnie shifts position. "Actually it's pretty much like the inside of a human. We have all the same organs in a similar arrangement, although…"

He can see Fishface is bored. He has that in common with Raphael. Complete indifference to all the fascinating ways of the world.

Like pivot points. Donnie crouches down, jumps up, slams his full weight down on the end of the beam. It shudders and jumps, kicking up from underneath Fishface's foot, but Donnie is already in motion. One thing he can do is sprint like a boss. It's the long legs.

He reaches the edge of the roof just as the end of the beam smacks Fishface in the chin. He leaps over him, lands and rolls, picking up his bo on the way. Fishface staggers about, roaring in pain and anger, blood pouring from his mouth.

"I will cut you!" screams Fishface as Donnie takes off across the rooftops towards home.

"Who's your nemesis now, huh?" Donnie mutters.


	5. Emergency Surgery

_For Andrea O'Down, who asked for Mikey, teddy bear._

* * *

Mikey reached under Donnie's lab bench and pulled out their first aid kit, the red box with _Mikey do not touch_ scrawled across the side.

"Aw, Donnie, you do care." He flipped it open, scrabbled through bandages and saline and antiseptic until he found the packet of catgut and needles. He pushed his voice to a squeaky falsetto. "Doctor, doctor, will the patient survive?" He dropped his voice to a low growl. "Well nurse, it's a critical situation but I am the best surgeon in New York. With my skills the patient is sure to pull through." He closed the box. "Oh doctor, you're so-"

Mikey froze at the sound of approaching footsteps. He shoved the box back under the bench and fled to his room.

Mr Bear lay on the bed, firmly wrapped in Leo's old baby blanket. Mikey sat cross-legged on the bed in front of him. "How's the patient today?" He lifted his beloved bear out of the blanket. Silver plumbing tape criss-crossed his torso, holding him together after his traumatic encounter with Leatherhead. But the tape was peeling off in places, leaving a sticky residue on the fur. Stuffing poked out of the holes and one eye was hanging loose.

"Poor Mr Bear." Mikey sighed. "Life has not been good to you." He stroked the ragged head. "But don't worry. Doctor Mikey is here to make you all better."

He threaded a needle with catgut and tucked his patient into his lap. "I'm sorry about this," he said as he dug the needle carefully into frayed cloth. "But it won't hurt. I've had lots of practice. Once I had to stitch up Leo's knee because Donnie hurt his hand and Raph hates needles. I did a pretty good job. There was only a little bit of puckering. And I'm much better now."

He tugged on the needle, working his way along the tear. "Between you and me, Raph is just a big pussy. He's all _grr no pain_ and then Leo has to yell at him and threaten to tell Master Splinter until he'll let Donnie fix him up. It's like he wants to have scars and look all beaten up." Mikey cut the line with his teeth and threaded the needle again. "For someone who bleeds such a lot, he's really bad with other people's blood. And he's such a wuss about fluids and vomit and all that. He was useless when Donnie's leg got infected. But I don't mind. Pus isn't scary, just gross." He held Mr Bear up for inspection. "Almost done. Let's fix that eye."

The eye was trickier than he thought, and was definitely off-centre. He contemplated taking it off and trying again.

"Nah," he said. "It gives you character."

There was a bang on the door. Raph barged in before Mikey could answer. "Mikey, have you seen-" His eyes fell on Mr Bear. "Ahh! What did you do to your Bear?"

"MICHELANGELO!" Donnie's voice reverberated through the lair. Mikey squeaked, dumped Mr Bear on the bed, gathered up all his stolen supplies and bolted.

Raph dived to the side and waited until the Mikey storm had passed. Mr Bear lay on his side on the bed, his furry body criss-crossed with stitches. Raph sat down next to him. "Well, you look like shit. We might have to rename you Frankenbear."

Mr Bear stared back at him. Raphael regretted his harsh words. He picked up Mr Bear, rubbed his thumb over the toy's ragged and very dirty cheek. "Don't worry, bud. Chicks dig scars." He placed him carefully on Mikey's pillow. "And I've still got more than you."


	6. Searching

_This was an anonymous Tumblr request: so i've been watching "metalhead rewired" all night since it's by far my favorite episode (because metalhead heck yes) and i was wondering for the drabble: any one of the captured mutants from said episode, confusion? _

_I had so much fun with this request. It was definitely different!_

* * *

He had been sleeping. Sleep was good. He dreamed of fish and small furry bodies between his jaws and, strangely, the ocean. He could have dreamed forever. But waking came, and it was hard, and loud. The metal things were back, the ones with the scratchy voices that made him angry, the ones that stung him with their black rods. He lashed out a tentacle, knocking them away.

The colours were wrong. The world smelled wrong, and over it all was the burning scent of the black rods. He slithered underneath his platform, gripping with suckered tentacles. Where was he? Light shot past him and he hurried behind the cage to avoid being stung. His cage. He had been sleeping. He liked to sleep.

He roared, felt the energy building behind his eyes. _Go away, metal things._ Then a light flashed above him. Bodies moved in the direction of the light and disappeared. Some instinct, some deep understanding told him that way was home. So he went, clambering and leaping up the strange platforms until with a final leap he dove into the pulsing pink energy.

It was home, and not home. He didn't really know what home _was_. There was just a feeling, a need. He wandered, lost, running from the screams and the noise and the light until he found his way down into the dark.

The dark was good, comforting. He lived on little furry bodies, zapping them with his energy, crunching them up in his jaws. But there was something missing. Something he needed, but he could not identify what it was. He wandered to the surface sometimes, searching, but always the lights and the screams drove him back down again to the safety of the dark.

One day in the dark there was a new smell, a good smell, a food smell. He followed the smell, found other smells that were familiar, smells that brought to mind stings and blows and pain. He hesitated in the opening of a tunnel, scanning the room before him. A large, silvery body lay in the middle of the room, the source of the tantalising scent. He sniffed again, and mewed, tentacles scrabbling at the rough stone.

Hunger decided him and he slid across the room, wrapped a tentacle around the body, sank his sharp teeth in. The flesh parted, the taste sweet and strong in his mouth.

A cage crashed down around him. He shrieked, throwing himself against the bars, climbing to the top of the cage, shooting his energy into the darkness. But nothing came for him, and slowly he calmed, sliding down again to his food.

A light came on. Not a bright, harsh light, but a warm red one. Heat warmed his skin. He shuffled over toward the light, sinking down onto the bricks as the warmth penetrated cold flesh. Another silvery body landed in front of him with a wet splat. A shape appeared on the other side of the bars.

"There you go. Does that feel better?"

He liked the heat. Liked the food. Was ambivalent about the voice that brought him food, but he was warm and full as he had not been in a long time. He ate, and a gentle rumble sounded in his chest. He purred.

"Aw, aren't you just the cutest thing?"

A green hand came through the bars. He froze, growled around his fish.

"Nah, don't be like that. It's okay. I won't hurtcha." The voice was low, monotonous.

He watched the hand get closer, wary, waiting to strike. A touch on his head, below his eyestalks. The touch was good. He leaned in, just a little, and the fingers moved, scratching an itch he didn't know he had.

"There's a good boy. Good boy, Justin," said the voice.

He purred and settled down on the floor of his cage, warm and content.


	7. Brotherly love

For icanbeaunicornifiwant2 who asked: _Could u maybe write something about a drunk raph? Idk why but I have this headcanon where whenever he's drunk he just bcs really nice and is very open and just tells his brothers that he loves them for example._

* * *

Leo shifted uncomfortably on the cold brick. "I can't believe you would do this." He glared down at Raph, draped over Leo's legs and snoring. Leo shifted again. His leg was going to sleep. "I should just drag you home and let Master Splinter deal with you."

But of course he wouldn't. They stuck by each other, no matter what, especially in the face of Splinter's disapproval. He strained his ears, listening for the sound of Donnie and Mikey coming back, but heard only the distant drip of water.

Raph stirred, shifting his weight. Pins and needles flared down Leo's leg. He shoved Raphael aside and rubbed some life back into his leg.

"Leo?" Raph fell against him, his alcohol soaked breath washing over Leo and making him gag.

"If you throw up on me I am going to leave you here."

"Nah, bro." Raph leaned over, slid down Leo's plastron. Leo caught him and pushed him back into a sitting position.

"Love you, bro," said Raph, leaning his cheek against Leo's.

Leo shoved him away. "You know that would mean more if you weren't so wasted you couldn't stand."

"M'gonna take care of you."

Leo rolled his eyes in the darkness. "Yeah, cause you're the one sitting in a dark sewer with your drunk, sorry arse of a brother."

"M'not drunk." Spittle sprayed Leo's cheek.

"Oh, gross Raph." He shoved him away again, but Raph just slid right back to Leo's shoulder.

With relief Leo heard the splash of approaching footsteps. Donnie appeared out of the gloom. "Arguing with a drunk person is pretty pointless. They can't process at a higher level, and they won't remember anyway."

"I didn't have anything else to do."

Donnie leaned down and together they helped Raphael to his feet, slinging him between them. They staggered off towards the lair.

"Where's Mikey?" said Leo, grunting with the effort of keeping Raph moving.

"Throwing up in the bathroom."

"What?"

"Well you know Splinter can tell when we're faking it. So I fed Mikey some Ipecac syrup and now he's puking his guts up."

"Donnie, that's evil."

"It's genius is what it is. Got to remember that one." They paused at the turnstiles. The main room was empty. "Come on, lets get him into his room before Mikey runs out of stomach contents."

"Ugh." They wrestled an unhelpful Raphael through the turnstiles and across the room. Leo's heart thumped in his chest, expecting Splinter to appear at any moment and demand to know what was going on. But they made it to Raphael's room and hauled him through the door.

"Dump him on the bed," said Leo. He disentangled Raph's arm from around his shoulder and dropped him. Donnie, still caught in Raph's other arm, went down onto the bed with him. Leo laughed at Donnie struggling to get free.

Raph opened his eyes and spotted his brother. "You're awesome, Donnie."

Donnie finally extricated himself and stood up. "Yeah, yeah. You love me, Raph?"

"You're my best bud," Raph mumbled into the bed.

"What about Casey?" said Donnie, grinning.

"Case's m' best bud, but you're my best brother bud. I love you, coz you're a nerd but you're my nerd," said Raphael.

"Gee, thanks. Man I wish I had this on camera. Think of the possibilities."

"Don't talk to him," said Leo.

"Why not? This is funny."

"It's not funny."

"It so is." Donnie pulled out his phone.

Leo sighed pointedly and lifted Raph's legs onto the bed, shoving him until he was lying the right way. Raph looked up at him.

"Leo? You always look after me." Before he could do anything sensible, Raphael had wrapped his arms around Leo's neck.

"Okay, Raph, that's great," he said, struggling to get free. Donnie cackled in the background. "Tell me you're not filming this."

"'m gonna look after you. Love you buddy. Won't let anyone hurt you."

Donnie snorted. "Oh this is brilliant."

Footsteps sounded outside. "Shh!" They heard Mikey groan, and Splinter's encouraging tones.

"Whoops, better go," said Donnie, tucking his phone away. He closed the door behind him.

"How you feeling, Mikey?" said Donnie from the hall.

"I hate you, Donnie."

"Aw, c'mere bro. Lemme put you to bed."

Leo made a mental note not to accept any food or drink from Donnie in the near future.

"I mean it," said Raphael from behind him.

Leo turned back to Raphael, whose eyes were closed.

"I'll protect you." His voice trailed off. In a moment there was the sound of a drunken snore.


	8. I Wish

_For sadorkable , who asked for Apritello, wish. I'm sorry this took so long, I missed your request!_

* * *

"I wish things had turned out differently," Donnie whispered.

April's thin hand moved in his and he tightened his grip, but not so much that he would bruise the parchment-like skin. She opened her eyes and met his gaze. "That's not like you, Mr Logic." Her voice was so thin, a pale echo of the girl he remembered.

"Sorry, I thought you were asleep." He tried to smile at her. Failed miserably. Stroked a hand over the grey hair, brushed the wrinkled cheeks.

"Just resting." She squeezed his hand. "No regrets, remember?"

"No regrets." It was all very well for her to say that, to hold their shared promise over him, as if it would take away some of the pain. "April, I wish-"

"Don't."

"I wish you'd never met me."

April lay quiet for a while. "That's very selfish, Donnie."

"I know it is." He ground his teeth. "I know and I don't care. How could you-" He bent his head over her hand to hide his tears. "How dare you-"

"Get old?" she whispered. She made a dry rasping sound in her throat. It took a moment before he realised it was a chuckle. "Oh, how inconvenient of me. It's not my fault you're a long-lived turtle." The rasp of her breath in the ventilator filled the silence. "We had forty-seven good years, didn't we? And we had some fun." She sighed. "Oh boy did we have some fun." She squeezed his hand, so light he barely registered the touch. "Remember those days when I'm gone."

He didn't want to remember, didn't want to think of her alive and vital and laughing and loving. She was leaving him, and he saw the dark, empty days of his life stretching ahead of him and he feared. "I wish-"

"Donnie."

"I wish we had just a few more days. That's not too much to ask, is it?" His voice broke and he pressed a hand to his eyes. "April."

"Oh Donnie." She stroked the back of his hand. "I wish that I could give them to you, my love. But I have nothing left to give."

"I wish-"

"No more wishes."

She was right. She had given him everything and more. She had given him her life, and here he was, demanding comfort from her, when she was the one who was dying. He leaned over and pressed his lips to her cool skin. "Sorry, love." He brushed her cheek, tucked the blankets up under her chin, wiped the tears from his eyes. Forced himself to smile. "You're right. It was a hell of a ride."

She smiled back at him and closed her eyes. He brought her wrist to his lips so he could feel the tiny thread of her pulse, for as long as it lasted.

_I wish that there was no tomorrow._


	9. Get Him Back

_Aussie on asked: I Would love a de-aged Ralph story, where his brothers need to protect him from the bad guys. I don't know if this is what you had in mind, but this is where I went :)_

* * *

Leo sliced through a Kraang droid, sending the severed body flying. "Get him _back_, Donnie!"

"I'm trying!" Donnie was on his knees in front of an open panel, wires spilling over his lap, hands moving in a blur as he exchanged connectors. The black archway that Raph had disappeared into loomed over him, empty of their brother. _Where has he gone? Just hang on, Raph. We'll get you back._ He ran at the approaching wave of droids, hearing the whir of Mikey's nunchaku behind him.

A flash of light painted the droids in front of him in purple tones. "Got it!" shouted Donnie. Leo cut down the droids in his way and looked back at the arch. The light faded. A shape appeared on the floor. But it wasn't Raph. It was a small green turtle boy, sitting on his rump in a tangle of harness and wraps, red bandanna fallen onto his shoulders, his mouth an O of surprise.

"What the-" said Mikey.

Leo kicked away the last of the droids. "Donnie, what the hell?"

"Uh…" Donnie pointed at the boy. "That doesn't look right."

"You don't say!" Leo slammed his swords home and charged over to Donnie. "What happened?"

"I don't know!" Donnie grabbed his head. "I thought I'd reversed the effect-"

"Clearly not!" He shoved Donnie back to the open panel. "Fix it!"

Mikey was bending down in front of the young Raphael. "Aw, aren't you just the cutest thing?" He giggled. "You're so weenie!"

This couldn't be happening. Leo stared at Raph. He must be, what, three? Donnie had to fix this. He _must_ be able to fix this.

Mikey reached out his hand to Raphael, who looked horrified. He leaned forward and sank his teeth into Mikey's fingers. Mikey yelped and jumped backwards. In a flash Raphael wiggled out of the pile of wraps and bolted.

"Wait, Raph! Damn it!" Leo dashed after him. He caught him in a couple of strides and yanked him off the floor. Raph screamed and fought and tried to bite him. "Stop it! It's Leo! _Raphael_!" Raphael pushed at Leo's chest with all his little strength. His mouth opened and suddenly Leo was being deafened as Raphael wailed just inches from his face.

"Dunno what he's crying for. Look at my finger!" Mikey held up the offending digit which dripped blood. Raphael kicked Leo in the stomach and tried to wriggle free. Leo found himself juggling a squirming, punching Raphael, trying to avoid getting bitten but also trying not to drop him.

Mikey leaned on the wall and laughed until he cried.

"It's not funny, Mikey! How about trying to help?" He turned Raph on his side and shoved him under his arm, gripping him around the waist. There, that worked. Raph couldn't reach him with teeth or feet, but there was no let up in the deafening screaming. "Tell me you are nearly done, Donnie!"

"Uh...nearly?"

A burst of plasma fire came through the door, narrowly missing Donnie who yelped and ducked. A squad of Kraang droids marched through.

"Oh no, now?" Leo and Mikey dived for cover. "I can't fight like this!" He indicated their pinned and still screaming brother.

"Give him to Donnie," said Mikey.

"Donnie needs to fix that..._thing_ and get Raph back!"

"Well you stay here and I'll take them."

"There's too many!"

"Got it!" yelled Donnie. "Bring Raph over!"

Leo peered out from behind cover. The droids were advancing. There was no way he could dash across the room with Raph under his arm. It was too dangerous.

"What are we going to do?" asked Mikey, on his toes and ready to charge.

What were they going to do? He needed to get Raph to Donnie as soon as possible. He and Mikey needed to keep the droids away from Donnie until Raph was fixed. There was only one thing to do.

"Donnie!"

Donnie swung around. "What?"

"Don't miss!" He hurled Raph straight for Donnie.

"Leo!" Donnie squeaked and dove, catching Raphael in his arms.

"Touchdown!" shouted Mikey.

Leo charged out with Mikey behind him to draw fire away from Donnie and Raph. A flash of light lit the room. Yes! "Did it work?" he yelled, slashing a droid into pieces.

"Looks good!" Donnie shouted back.

Relief flooded over him. "Get out here, Raph!" he shouted. Leo and Mikey cleared up the rest of the bots, but Raphael didn't join the fight.

When the room was once more clear, Leo strode over to the archway. Raph sat on the floor on the pile of wraps and harness, an uncertain look on his face. Donnie was frowning at him.

Leo leaned down. "Raph? Raph, are you okay?"

He looked up at Leo. His lip trembled.

"Uh-oh," said Mikey.

A long-drawn out wail erupted from Raph's mouth. Tears leaked down his cheeks.

"Well the body's right…" said Mikey," "buut…"

Leo put his hand to his forehead and the growing headache there. "Donnie-"

"I know, I know. Fix him." Donnie flopped down in front of the panel with a sigh. "Here goes round three."


	10. This Heroic Life

_Eclectic Me asked: I'd be curious to see Raph doing a solo rescue, possibly of a kid, idea slightly inspired by Lone Raph and Cub from 03. It was hard, but I picked Raph because he's typically thought of as the least people friendly of all the guys. Not that he'd be deliberately mean or aggressive to an innocent person, more like just awkward and unsure of how to handle a situation he can't punch his way out of._

* * *

Raphael hurt so much he could no longer pinpoint specific injuries. They had all melded together into a single, body-wide ache. Still, it had been worth it. He grinned. That was an arse-kicking those thugs wouldn't soon forget. And now he could head home and wash off the blood and grime and just _sit_ for a few hours.

A high-pitched scream interrupted his thoughts. _Right, right, another citizen in trouble._ He sighed and turned towards the sound. Another scream tore through the night. _That's a kid!_ His heart lurched in his chest and he put on a burst of speed, ignoring his body's complaints.

Down below in an alley two men stood beside a black limousine, wrestling with a screaming child in a pink dress.

"Hold her!" snapped one.

"I'm trying! Little bitch." The man raised his hand and slapped the girl, who burst into terrified sobs.

Raphael's vision went red. He leaped off the roof and landed on the one not holding the girl, hearing the satisfying crunch of bones snapping. The other one looked at him in horror, then flung the girl at him.

"Fuck!" Raphael suddenly found himself juggling an armful of pink tulle, topped by a pair of red-rimmed green eyes. He hastily put the girl on the ground and ran after the kidnapper. The guy was fast but Raphael was faster. He cornered him and lay into him with fists and feet. "What kind of low-life kidnaps a kid?" he said, knocking the guy out before he could respond.

Raphael made his way back to the limo. The girl was nowhere in sight.

"Hey. Where are you?" he said. There was a scuffling sound from underneath the limo. Raphael crouched down and peered under the car. The girl stared back at him with a wary expression, her dress askew and her cheeks and nose damp. He held out a hand. "They're gone. You can come out. I won't hurt you."

"You're green."

"Well, you're pink. Green's better. Come out and I'll take you home."

"You said a bad word."

Did he? Probably. "Sorry."

"That's naughty. If you say bad words you don't get dessert."

He sighed. "Are you coming out or not?"

She hesitated a little longer, then crawled out. The front of her dress was filthy. She stood in front of him and wrinkled her nose. "You smell."

"Well sorry, I've been working."

"What's all that red stuff?"

"It's bloo- uh, paint. Yeah." He stood. Her head came just up to his hip. "Where do you live?"

"1296 Sycamore Street."

He plugged that into his tPhone. Wow, posh neighbourhood. About an hour's walk away. "All right, let's go." He strode off at his normal pace, then slowed as he realised she wasn't keeping up.

She caught up to him and took his hand. "Why did you paint yourself red?"

"I don't know." He tried to wriggle his fingers free but she had a firm grip. He sighed.

"Are you going to get in trouble?"

"Do you always talk this much?"

"Well _of course_." She rolled her eyes.

"How old are you?"

"Seven. It's my birthday. They were supposed to take me to my birthday party." Her lip quivered.

He panicked at the sight of imminent tears."Now don't start crying. You're okay."

"I got a new fairy princess costume and everything. Do you like it?"

He looked down at the grimy and sagging dress. "It looks a bit dirty."

"I guess."

"So what's your name?"

"Princess Elsa. What's yours?"

"Raphael."

"That's a funny name. I guess you're a funny person, so you should have a funny name."

"Yeah," he muttered. "I'm hilarious."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

He led her down alleyways, sticking to the shadows. It was slow going, and her steps got slower the further they went. "What's wrong?"

"I'm tired."

He looked at her short legs. An hour's walk across the city probably was too much for a kid. "Okay, here." He bent down and lifted her into his arms.

"If you touch me in a bad place I'll scream."

"What?" He glared down at her, a blush charging up his cheek. "What do you think I am? I'm not going to-" He spluttered in indignation. Holding her this way was awkward so he shifted her so she was sitting on his arm, facing his chest. That was better. "Anyway, screaming is a waste of time. If someone touches you in a bad place, you should kick them between the legs."

"Like this?" Her little foot connected with his lower plastron. "Ouch!"

Raphael winced and stopped walking, glad that he was well tucked away from stray kicks. Still, that had been very uncomfortable. "Yes. Exactly like that."

Now that he was carrying her, he made his way up to the rooftops and set off at a run. That was much faster, and they covered a good distance. She squealed the first time he jumped an alleyway, but after that gripped his neck and laughed. He grinned. This wasn't so bad.

She squirmed in his arms, messing with his balance. "Stop wriggling." She stopped for a while, then squirmed again.

"What's wrong with you?"

She leaned in to whisper in his earhole. "I have to pee."

"Can't you hold it?"

"No. I have to go now!"

"All right, all right! Look I'll jump down and you can pee in the alley."

Elsa gasped. "I can't pee in the alley!"

"Sure you can. I pee in alleyways all the time."

"That's naughty! And if you're naughty-"

Raph sighed. "Yeah, yeah, you get no dessert. Well, where the hell are you going to pee then?"

"I need to pee in the toilet." Her voice rose in distress.

"All right, all right! I'll find you a toilet." He scanned the buildings, grumbling. There was an apartment block across the way. After a little searching he found a window that opened onto a darkened bathroom. "Right," he said to Elsa. "Hang on." He leaped across the alleyway and landed on the fire escape. FRom there he slung them across to the window and slipped into the darkened bathroom.

"I can't see."

"Hang on!" He fumbled around near the door until he found the light switch. "There. Now hurry up," he whispered.

Elsa stared at him.

"What?"

"You can't watch! You have to go outside."

"Oh, right." He hauled himself out the window and waited on the fire escape, shifting his shoulders. The run was keeping him warm but he could feel the night's activities catching up with him.

"What on earth-" A man's voice came through the window. "Who are you? Janet! There's a kid in our bathroom!"

Raph heard Elsa scream, then she appeared at the window. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out, climbing swiftly up to the roof. He could hear the guy leaning out the window, yelling after them. "Did you pee?"

"Yes."

"Good. Let's get you home." He was almost ready to sit down right here, he was so tired.

"Wait."

"What now?"

Elsa held up her hands. "I didn't wash my hands"

Raph groaned. "Does it matter?"

"It's n-"

"Okay, it's naughty, no dessert." He swore. When he got her home, he was going to have _words _with her parents, he really was.

"That's a bad word."

"_I know_." He was losing his shit at this poor kid. Breathe in, breathe out. Okay. Ignore the pain, just focus on getting her home. After washing her hands.

He found a faucet on an apartment roof near a greenhouse. She washed her hands, humming as she did. The wind picked up, biting into Raph's aching limbs, not helping with his cooling muscles. _Maybe a hot bath when I get home. _

"Okay, I'm finished." She held up her hands to be inspected.

"Perfect. Let's go." He picked her up and ran. Another twenty minutes across the roof and his legs were shaking with the effort. He paused on the edge of the roof across from her building. The street below was packed with police cars and television vans.

"Looks like they know you were kidnapped." How was he going to get her down there? That was a lot of people for one missing kid. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Princess Elsa."

He stared at her. He'd assumed she'd just made up the title. "You're not really a princess are you?"

"No, of course not, silly."

"What do your parents do?"

"Dad's an architect. My Mom's a senator."

Well that explained the television vans. "All right, here we go." He leaped across to the other building and climbed down the fire escape into the alley. He placed Elsa on the ground. "Now you go straight around the corner to those policemen, okay?"

"Okay." Elsa threw her hands around his neck and squeezed. She planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

Raph froze, then patted her gently on the back, wary of 'bad touching'. "Off you go." He rubbed at the damp spot on his cheek.

"Bye, Raphael."

"Bye, Elsa."

He waited until he heard the shouting, and then climbed back up to the roof. Elsa had been picked up by a policeman and was being carried inside.

And now he had another hour's run to get home. He sighed. This hero business was a crock. He remembered Elsa's arms around his neck. Her parents would be happy. "And that's all you're going to get," he muttered into the night.


	11. Timing

_thegirlwholived__asked "__Can you do an April x Donnie chapter"? Yes, yes I can._

* * *

April brushes her hand along Donnie's cheek, tracing the scar that runs from eye to chin. He's so different from the awkward teen she met over twenty years ago now. But then how different is she? The caesarean scar that pulls whenever she twists, the ache in her shoulder from when it was broken, the slow, heavy feel of her body now.

Donnie's leaning in to her caress, his eyes half closed. They've been dancing around each other for so long, but tonight, tonight she is determined that he will see that she loves him, that she needs him so badly.

She leans in close to his cheek. "Do you remember that night on the rooftops back in New York, when we were tracking the Kraang ship that ended up crashing into a skyscraper and exposing the Kraang to the world?"

It was a pivotal moment in the fight, but that's not why it has a place in her heart.

"I remember." His voice is barely a whisper.

She cups his chin with her hands, feels the roughness of his skin beneath her fingers. "I'm sorry I didn't kiss you that night. I've always wondered what would have happened if I had. Where we would be now."

Donnie runs his finger along her jaw. "You can't change the past." Such a logical, Donnie thing to say, but his voice is rough with emotion.

"No, but you can make a future." She leans in, presses her lips against his. And the kiss was worth waiting for, for both of them, she knows this by the way he leans in to her, by the way his arm wraps around her, pulling them together. It feels like coming home. Tears prick at the back of her eyes. Why did she wait so long for this?

He pulls away, frowning. "Wait, April."

"What's wrong?" She doesn't want to stop, reaches for him even as he pulls away. Doesn't he understand how much she needs this?

"Yesterday…" He glances at the date on his computer screen. "You went to see Casey's grave yesterday."

"I always do. What- no. This isn't about him. This is about us."

Donnie lets her go, reluctantly. She can't help it, she grabs for him, but he captures her scrabbling hands in his. "I know you're sad. I miss him too. But-"

"He's been gone five years, Donnie. Isn't that long enough?" She grips his fingers like a lifeline. "I don't want to be alone."

Donnie smiles, but it's full of pain and regret and she wants to scream at him. "April, I'll always be here for you. But I won't be Casey's replacement." His tone is firm. He squeezes her hand. "I'm sorry."

She leans on the bench as he walks away, wants to run after him, to cry, to tell him he is never second best. She loved Casey but Casey is gone, and she has loved Donnie longer. Why can't he see that? But it's the same every year. Her timing is always off.


End file.
